SAN DIEGO — Late Tuesday night San Diego Unified sent out a letter to parents telling them that the majority of students will continue with online learning through the first part of the new year. The decision was made because, according to the district, “the current spread of the coronavirus in our community makes it unsafe to move forward with Phase 2 of our reopening at this time.”
The letter said that appointment-based, in-person instruction will still be available on campus for students with the greatest needs through Phase 1. It went on to say the district will continue increasing the number of students participating in the small group instruction, with infant/toddler, early learning, middle school, and high school students to start receiving appointments on Dec. 7. Since October, some 2,000 elementary school students have participated in these appointments.
San Diego Unified recently spent tens of millions of dollars on air filtration, plexiglass desk dividers, hand sanitizer, personal protective equipment for teachers and students among other things. In the letter, the district says, “Schools will be ready when it is safe and responsible to fully reopen. Unfortunately, that time has not yet come.”
The San Diego Unified website will have the most up to date information regarding reopening plans. The site includes a status dashboard and a complete list of the conditions we are continuing to watch for when it will be safe again to reopen campuses.
The district plans to reassess the public health conditions and provide an updated timetable on Jan. 13.